Jelly Roll’s ‘authentic’ praise of Jesus at Grammys
At the 2026 Grammys, country artist Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord) accepted Best Contemporary Country Album for Beautifully Broken and delivered a heartfelt, faith-centered speech saying music and God changed his life and that “Jesus is for everybody” — not owned by any political party or label. Washington Examiner senior writer Joe Concha praised the remarks on Fox & Friends First as authentic and unscripted, saying Jelly Roll could just as easily perform in church. The article contrasts that reception with other celebrities at the ceremony who mixed religious references with political statements—Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish criticized ICE and immigration policy, and SZA invoked being “governed by God.” Concha dismissed those political statements as out of touch, calling performers elitist and suggesting such comments are unwelcome at an entertainment event; he also warned Bad Bunny’s remarks foreshadow his Super Bowl halftime approach. The piece notes related coverage and reactions,including President Trump citing performers’ political stances as a reason he plans to skip the Super Bowl.
Jelly Roll’s ‘authentic’ praise of Jesus at Grammys contrasts other celebrities: Joe Concha
Washington Examiner senior writer Joe Concha heralded the “awesome” praise that musician Jelly Roll gave to God and Jesus Christ during the 2026 Grammys on Sunday.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, took to the stage in Los Angeles to accept the award for Best Contemporary Country Album for Beautifully Broken. He said he wrote the album because he used to be “broken” with only a small Bible and a radio “the same size,” but believed they could “change my life.”
“I believe that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life. And I want to tell ya’ll right now: Jesus is for everybody!” Jelly Roll said.
“Jesus is not owned by one political party! Jesus is not owned by no music label, Jesus is Jesus, and anybody can have a relationship with Him! I love you, Lord!”
Concha praised the musician’s speech as “authentic,” saying it “came from the heart.”
“Clearly, he wasn’t reading a teleprompter, not a scripted thing he did in the mirror five seconds before that. That Jelly Roll, I mean, he should be, not just performing where he does onstage for his millions of fans, but on a Sunday morning at church service,” Concha said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends First.
“I would pay to see Jelly Roll even though church is free. I mean, that was awesome!”
Besides Jelly Roll, other musicians such as Bad Bunny also mentioned God while criticizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deployment in the United States. Billie Eilish said, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” SZA also said that people are “governed by God,” not by the government, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Concha paraphrased Ricky Gervais’s 2020 Golden Globes speech in response to these statements, saying, “No one cares about your opinion on this stuff.”
“I’m sure Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny can say these things because they are people with heavy security who live in gated communities. They’re not dealing with the murderers, rapists, child molesters, sex traffickers that ICE is removing from this country,” Concha said.
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“They have no appreciation for this stuff because they live in an elitist bubble, and obviously showed it there during this awards show last night, where, again, people just are there for the music and they just want to have a good time without having to think about what’s going on in the world for a couple of hours.”
Concha also suggested Bad Bunny’s comments are “a preview” of what can be expected from his Halftime performance at the Super Bowl this Sunday. President Donald Trump cited the musicians, including Green Day’s pre-game performance, as why he isn’t attending this year’s game.
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